Archive for the 'Mike Brown' Tag Under 'Ducks' Category

Assistant coach Dave Farrish did away with the rest of his hair some 15 years ago, which is probably good given that he has none to pull out following some rough nights the Ducks have had on the penalty kill.

The fact is that while the club still sits 26th in the NHL following Wednesday's 3-2 win over Carolina, it has killed off penalties at an 83 percent rate over the previous 11 contests.

“We've had some sorting out processes there and I think guys are starting to get a little more comfortable now with each other and with the systems we're using,” Farrish said. “Our goaltending has been better as well. Obviously all those categories make a difference in the end result.”

Farrish has incorporated many new players on the unit. Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry are prime examples while Mike Brown, Petteri Nokelainen and the currently injured Ryan Carter have taken on larger roles.

Along with that comes the times where the Ducks have had to work through moments of unfamiliarity and indecision.

Raise your hand if you had the Phoenix Coyotes right in the thick of the Pacific Division race with a winning record. Yep, we didn't think so.

The team that made more news in the courtroom than on the ice rink this summer is one of the early surprise stories in the NHL. The Coyotes have a 3-2 shootout win over the Ducks last week and bring in a 10-6-0 record into tonight's rematch at Honda Center.

Former Dallas coach Dave Tippett (pictured) was hired toward the end of training camp and had to hit the ground running. It is early but Tippett is receiving some acclaim for bringing some stability to an organization that was in chaos during the protracted bankruptcy court battle over ownership of the team.

Tippett's defense-minded system has been a huge benefit for former Ducks goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, who has an NHL-best three shutouts and is among the league leaders in wins (nine), goals-against average (1.81) and save percentage (.931).

"They don't rely on us to score, so we've gotten a chance to go out there without really any pressure. It's huge for us."

Playing his first game back after sitting out a week with a bone bruise in his foot, Carter (above, with Brown and Scott Niedermayer) assisted his linemates on two key goals in Friday night's 7-2 victory against Vancouver.

The two-point night tied a career best for Carter, who logged a season-high 15:53 minutes of ice time and won nine of 15 faceoffs.

-- Ryan Whitney (pictured) left the ice at the start of practice and didn't go through the hour-long session but Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said at the moment that the defenseman is very likely to play tomorrow night against St. Louis.

Carlyle didn't disclose what Whitney's ailment is, saying it's “in the body” but not elaborating any further. “It's not a hangnail,” the coach said.

Ducks winger Mike Brown checked in with Hockey Night in Canada on Tuesday, and naturally, the conversation turned to Detroit.

Now that the Red Wings are closing in on a fifth Stanley Cup in 12 years, the Ducks can offer an interesting vantage point after taking them to the final minute of Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals.

Hosts Jeff Marek and Neil Smith asked Brown if he took some satisfaction from that series, knowing that the Ducks showed how tough they can be to play against.

"It's definitely tough to watch just knowing that we almost had them ... they do have an unbelievable team," Brown said. "It's good that we lost to a good team. I wish them all the best , but it's pretty tough to watch knowing it could have been you."

The Ducks have re-signed winger Mike Brown to a two-year contract extension, the team announced Monday.

Brown, who was set to become a restricted free agent, will earn $500,000 for the 2009-10 season and $575,000 for the 2010-11 season. His contract will account for $537,500 against the Ducks' salary cap.

A forward who brought energy to the fourth line and a valuable penalty killer, Brown had two goals and an assist with 60 penalty minutes in 28 regular season games with the Ducks after he was acquired from Vancouver for Nathan McIver in February.

DETROIT -- The constant adjustments that are so much a part of the Stanley Cup playoffs figure to involve more than just players and coaches when the Ducks and Detroit Red Wings meet Sunday in Game 2 of a second-round series.

Joe Louis Arena fans who have made careers of booing Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger since his days with the rival St. Louis Blues are likely to turn much of their attention to Mike Brown after the NHL on Saturday declined to suspend the Ducks rookie winger for his controversial Friday night hit on Jiri Hudler in Detroit's 3-2 victory.

Brown received major and game-misconduct penalties for the neutral-zone check that left Hudler's face bloodied at 11:29 of the first period, and the Red Wings erased an early 1-0 deficit when Johan Franzen scored on the ensuing five-minute power play. The call also left the Ducks down a man the rest of the night, which resulted in top-line center Ryan Getzlaf playing nearly 28 minutes, much of the time filling Brown's vacated spot on the penalty-killing unit.

"It was definitely a long night, with all the penalties and stuff like that," Getzlaf said after the Ducks went through a short Saturday morning practice at the Detroit City Sports Center. "That stuff's not the easiest to deal with, but I feel pretty good today."